September 22, 2008
   

Soybean futures traded on the Dalian Commodity Exchange settled sharply higher Monday, in line with Friday's big gains on the Chicago Board of Trade.

 

The benchmark January 2009 soybean contract settled RMB139 or 3.6% higher at RMB3,969 a metric tonne after trading in a range of RMB3,935-RMB4,021/tonne.

 

The benchmark contract hit 5% limit-up briefly right before the closing bell.

 

The recovery in crude oil prices to above US$100 a barrel helped boost confidence in the overall commodities market.

 

As the market is now eyeing the U.S. financial crisis, any signal from the U.S. will heavily affect the domestic market, said Tu Xuan, an analyst at commodities consultancy Shanghai JCI.

 

The U.S. government unveiled a plan Friday to support financial markets, which helped ease market fears.

 

Stocks in China also surged for two sessions in a row after its government took various measures last week to support the market.

 

"There could be a (further) rebound if financial markets and (CBOT) stabilize after the recent big fluctuations," said Dong Shuangwei, an analyst at Capital Futures.

 

China's Ministry of Agriculture warned over the weekend that autumn crops including soybeans and corn face the possibility of pest attacks and frost ahead of their harvest later this month.

 

But analysts said the impact on crop output could be minimal, as the country is poised to harvest higher grain output this year, for the fifth year in a row, on expanding acreage.

 

Analysts said soybean prices will follow crude oil prices more closely, as a good global harvest is on track.

 

Open interest in all soybean contracts fell 4,656 lots to 440,658 lots Monday.

 

Corn futures, soymeal futures and soyoil futures settled higher, while palm oil futures settled mixed.

 

But benchmark palm oil futures and benchmark soyoil futures contracts both hit 5% limit-up during the session after the recent tumble.

 

Monday's settlement prices in yuan a metric tonne and the volume for all contracts in lots (One lot is equivalent to 10 tonnes):

 

Contract           Settlement         Price        Change       Volume

Soybeans          Jan 2009          3,969        Up  139     1,310,622

Corn                May 2009          1,784        Up   11        348,468

Soymeal           Jan 2009           3,426        Up  110    1,270,548

Palm Oil            Jan 2009           6,190        Up  284        53,880

Soyoil               Jan 2009           8,142        Up  350       287,010